GUWAHATI, March 13 - Students of the Assam Engineering College (AEC) today staged a demonstration here demanding demarcation of the institution�s boundary and eviction of encroachers in and around their campus, including Deepor Beel.
The programme was undertaken by students of AEC in association with the Prabrajan Virodhi Mancha.
�According to a map prepared by the then Jalukbari mouzadar in 1963, the total land of AEC is around 1,146 bigha and 10 lecha. The college doesn�t have a proper boundary today. We feel many stretches of the college land have been encroached upon. This has also posed grave security concerns,� general secretary of the AEC Students� Union Deepjyoti Kalita said.
He said the government should survey the area, identify the original AEC land and erect a proper boundary wall.
Kalita alleged that over the last few years, people of suspected nationality have been settling in the vicinity of the college and demanded enhancement of security in the area.
�There is a gate only for namesake. Anyone can have access to the college. This has become a serious concern. There have been incidents in the past,� Kalita said.
The students� body also demanded freeing of the Deepor Beel from encroachers and steps to protect the migratory birds and other flora and fauna in the Ramsar site.
Around 250 students of the college participated in today�s demonstration.
AEC is the first undergraduate engineering college in north-eastern India.
